And if they give a couple more performances like the wretched garbage that polluted the Meadowlands last night, the Nets can say good-bye to their playoffs aspirations as well.

“It’s been like that for the last four games when we had something to play for,” said Jason Kidd, who was weakened by illness. “Unfortunately, we’ve gone undefeated – we haven’t won a game that counted. Somewhere down the line in the playoffs, we have to win a game that counts. Maybe we’re saving it for the playoffs.”

Or next season. With so much at stake – including an opportunity to clinch a second straight Atlantic Division title – the Nets unleashed a clunker of staggering proportions against the Hornets who outrebounded them, outworked them, outhustled them and, naturally, outscored them, 87-74, to stomp out New Jersey’s chance to repeat as the East’s No. 1 seed.

“From the start, we had no emotion, no energy,” said Byron Scott, who admitted he verbally ripped into his team – “I talked. A little louder than I’m talking now,” he said – after they established a season-low scoring total at home, despite 23 points from Kenton Martin and 21 by Richard Jefferson. “We acted like the game really didn’t matter. That’s disappointing.”

With Detroit hanging on for a one-point win over Cleveland, the Nets were assured of no higher than a No. 2 East seed and even that is in jeopardy. Philadelphia, which owns the tie-breaker over the Nets, is 1 ½ games back and still has a chance to claim the Atlantic title. If Philly wins its last two and the Nets lose in Indiana, the Sixers get the division.

“I’m not worried about Detroit. The way we’re playing right now, I’m worried about us,” Scott said.

“We have a chance to win 50 games and be the No. 2 seed,” said Kidd (14 points, 6 assists). “Who said you can’t win a championship being the No. 2 seed?”

Well, no one. But no one will give you a chance playing like last night, either. The Nets, without Dikembe Mutombo (personal reasons,) had preached about putting their A game on display in their final two games and several practices this week before the weekend start of the playoffs. Put it this way – if this was the A Game, then the B stuff might be banned. The Nets scored 11 points in the fourth quarter – they were outscored 21-11 – making a three-game total of 71-37 in fourth quarters. Baron Davis scored nine of his 19 in the fourth for the Hornets, and Jamal Mashburn put in four of his 17 points for New Orleans.

“There wasn’t a lot of flow or continuity to what we were doing on the offensive end especially. That’s why we’re struggling the last few minutes,” Jefferson said. “We [played] good defense but you’ve got to have flow and continuity and know what’s going to happen in the last four minutes, know what you’re going to go to and who you’re going to go to and we didn’t have that.”

Martin, who left without speaking to reporters, played with fire but even his 15 rebounds couldn’t offset a 46-36 Hornet dominance.